Ann Mullen

Friday, January 16, 2015

We adopted a Plott Hound from a rescue shelter a few days before Christmas, and we named him Buck. He was four months old and so adorable... but he was also sick. We didn't know it at the time, but he had been infected with the Parvo virus—a terrible virus most dogs don't survive. Yes, he had gotten his shots the day before we picked him up, but it was too late. He'd already been exposed.

We took him to the vet as soon as we realized something was wrong. The prognosis wasn't good. We could have him put down, or we could treat him and keep our fingers crossed. We'd have to give him fluids with an IV, medication, and a whole lot of TLC. So, we did, and all was not lost. Buck survived his horrible illness, and now, well let's just say... it was all worthwhile.

Wednesday, December 03, 2014

My son, Tommy Mullen,﻿ was going to sell this car for junk,
so I bought it (real cheap).

His issues with the car started when he put in the wrong
kind of antifreeze… and then everything else just went downhill from there. The
car sat for a long time.

I thought the car still had potential. Front-wheel drive. 30
mpg! FWD would be good in the snow, and who doesn’t want great gas mileage? Sure,
it was old, but I didn’t care. I could drive it anywhere, park it anywhere. No
fear. So what if it gets banged up? It’s a two-dollar car. It just needs a
little work. How bad could it be?

So… my husband, Tom Mullen,﻿ worked on it… and worked on it.
Many times, he almost gave up. He cussed at it. He threatened to drive it into South
River. He had other work to do. He couldn’t be spending all his
time on “that piece of sh*t”. But, he persevered, and a year later, the Money
Pit is ready for the road!

*It still has a small issue with the engine idle, but he’ll
take care of that… eventually. He has other things to do.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Instead of shoes, I always wear socks around the house. I don't know about most women out there, but for me, ankle socks are just too tight, so... I came up with something different. I got this idea when I took a pair of Tom's socks that were ready for the trash bin, and I cut the tops off (so they wouldn't be tight either). This opened up a whole new world of foot comfort for me. Now, though, instead of waiting for Tom's hand-me-downs, I went out and bought a pack of men's socks just for me. I cut the tops off, and now I'm good to go. You should give it a try. Your feet will thank you.

Friday, September 05, 2014

I hesitate to hook up on a social network with someone if
they don’t have a picture by their name. I don’t know about you, but I want to see who
I’m talking to. I don’t care what they
look like. I don’t even care if their pic is a basket of fake flowers. I just
need something to make me feel like someone's there. To me, you’re not there if
your image is an egg. If I wanted to see eggs, I’d go have a look at my
chickens. Show me your face. Not photogenic, you say? Me either, but I’d put up
something. Get brave and show the world who you are. If I can post this awful
selfie, then you can come up with something.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Right after my books went
live on Kindle, they also went live on NOOK. After several months, I found out
they just weren’t selling on NOOK, so I removed them.

I did this because I wanted
to put some of them in the Prime Program/Amazon Kindle and to be able do this,
my ebooks couldn’t be sold anywhere else. They weren’t selling on NOOK, so why
not make a change?

That’s the way it has been
for over a year and sales have been very good on Amazon Kindle. Then, I started
getting emails from readers asking why they weren’t available on NOOK. Sooo… I
took all but two out of Prime/Kindle and they went live again on NOOK.

Normally, my books sell well
on Kindle, but not this month. This month the sales have been dismal, and to
top it off, only one person has purchased a book on NOOK so far. What does that
tell you?

I’m sorry readers, but there
just isn’t a market out there for NOOK. Not for me anyway. Some of my books
will be available on NOOK, including my newest one, The Prey Bites Back, but
I’m headed back home to Kindle Prime.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

I’ve read quite a few articles about how people write, and most say they go by an outline or by their notes. I wish I could say I have a strategy for writing, but I don’t. I just sit down and start writing, letting my mind go where it wants. Sometimes it goes way out into left field and I have to pull it back and rethink the situation. But that works for me.

When I start a new book I have an idea of a storyline, but
that’s about it. To me, the most important thing is to come up with a story and
a title that suits the story. Once I get an idea and a title, the rest just
seems to fall into place. A lot of times, the book ends up differently than
what I had planned, but that also works for me.

The one thing I do to keep myself on track and not forget to
mention the outcome of a scenario is to make a very brief notation at the end
of the book. Using MS Word, it’s not hard to do. For example, if I have a
character who is involved in a situation, at the bottom of the page I’ll type:
tell about (insert name) and what happened to her/him. Or, if I add a new
character, I’ll skip down and say something like: Shark—tall, muscular, shaved
head, black guy, war scars, snap a neck in a second. When I go back to where I
left off writing and continue, the notation moves down the page.

That’s pretty much it for me. Writing should be fun, not
bothersome.

If you have any writing tips, I’d like to hear them. They
say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but I say you can.

Now, this old dog is going back to working on Be Very Afraid. See you on the flip
side.

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About Me

Birthplace: Wilson, NC. Lived in Newport News, VA for 40 years, and then moved to Stanardsville, VA in 1999. Married with two adult children and one grandchild. To date, I have published eight books: WHAT YOU SEE, SOUTH RIVER INCIDENT, A CRYING SHAME, MIDDLE RIVER MURDERS, GREENE COUNTY KILLER, DEATH ON THE BELLA CONSTANCE, ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, and LUNCH BREAK SHORTS.
In 2006, I was selected Favorite Virginia Author in a reader poll by Cooperative Living Magazine. Four of my books have been nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary Award. The books in my Jesse Watson mystery series are set in Greene County, Virginia, and feature heroine, Jesse Watson and her P.I. partner, Billy Blackhawk. Mystery/fiction with a little romance and humor.
To contact me, email: aftonridge@aol.com
434-985-1957
Visit my web site www.aftonridge.com